capturing the good life

Craft

It is the season of gift giving. Around here we don’t do a lot of shopping, but instead, do a little supply gathering. Our family LOVES to do homemade gifts for the holidays. Today I took to some candle making supplies to test make some unique industrial candles. A quick trip to the hardware and craft stores and I was ready to go!

Here is what I used:

Galvanized Pipe Caps: 2 inch, 1 1/2 inch, and 1 1/14 inch sizes

Beeswax Pellets

Essential Oil (Sweet Orange)

Long wicks

In a double boiler, or in my case a regular pot of water with a heat safe bowl on top, heat the wax and about 40 drops of essential oil until fully melted. While you wait, glue the wicks to the bottom inside of your galvanized caps. Pull the wicks to one side, pour hot wax into each cap. Using skewers, prop your wicks up to keep them out of the wax. Don’t worry if the tops are a little rough, you can clean them up using a hair dryer and a skewer to smooth things out. When everything is set, cut your wicks down and viola! A custom set of candles ready for gifting. Total estimated Cost: $16.00

I cook a lot. You probably already know that from the many food themed blogs of the last few years. Cooking a lot = lots of messes. Sometimes those messes end up on your favorite shirt and you find the need for an apron.

I’ve had this round table cloth- hanging out around the house for some time now. It was time it was put to good use. I don’t have a round table and its clearly too small to make curtains. Thanks to Martha, I found the right basic pattern to make even more simple. No pockets necessary for this gal, so I forgot all about the need to fold, add a couple extra seams, and just cut the entire pattern up about 6 inches. This made a plain front apron that hit me about the knees.

Cut out your pattern, alter as needed. Pin to ironed fabric. Cut to pattern. With a little ironing turning a hem that is about 1/2 inch wide. Turn again another 1/2 inch on all sides and iron. Sew each seam. Make you waist and neck straps in the same fashion. Attach and VIOLA! Apron City. No more splashes on my clothes any more.

I certainly can’t decide which skills I would like to hone in on in the craft world, so I’ve decided to dabble in them all- and I mean ALL. This week’s adventure brought me to The Blue Octopus in Tacoma, Washington. My dear friend over at Mary Jo Photography recommended this adventure thanks to a quick snag of a Living Social deal. I am so glad she did. This is soley a blog about my super excitement about the entire experience. So. Much. Fun.

The Sips-N-Canvas class is an opportunity for those interested in painting to dabble (stipple) their way into the paint media. Kerry starts everyone off by having them choose an image that speaks to them. She gets you all the supplies and techniques needed to create a masterpiece including cheese, crackers, and wine. of course wine. During the two hour class, she is patient, knowledgeable and SO encouraging.

This was one of the best guided art experiences I’ve had in a while, and would highly recommend Kerry’s classes to anyone interested in painting. Her art is for sale on etsy, in her shop, and at exhibits. Her painting classes are open to everyone, and she even offers private parties. Who’s in?

In between the day job and the portrait photography, I LOVE to create. Luckily, so does the Handsome. Part of why we work so hard is to really enjoy our home and life together. I found myself with some free time in the last days of my vacation recently, and could not sit idle. We’ve been improving our home for the last 5 years, from bathroom/kitchen remodels, to a pergola, and a new 2nd story deck. We tend to reuse materials often- we’re green like that. The Handsome has been hoarding the old lumber for more than 3 years now, and was consolidating recently- we just couldn’t part with that old decking.

There has always been an unused portion of our tall living room wall that has never looked quite right. It was time to fix it. Enter iron pipe and the salvaged lumber.A trip to the hardware store to get the following after doing a little math for how big we wanted this masterpiece to be:

2 – 6″ Black Threaded 1/2” Pipes

2 – 8″ Black Threaded 1/2” Pipes

12 – 10″ Black Threaded 1/2” Pipes

4 – 12″ Black Threaded 1/2” Pipes

6- 1/2″ Threaded T’s

4 – 1/2″ Threaded 90’s

2 – 1/2: Threaded Couplings

10 – 1/2″ Flanges

1 box of 1 5/8″ Counter Sunk Screws

1 can of Rust-o-leum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray paint

1 can of Rust-o-leum Indoor Clear Polyurethane (optional)

You will need lumber if you don’t have the salvaged wood option

Directions and cost breakdown are listed below.

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1st, thing is 1st: your flanges will probably be silver. I was informed that they don’t make un-galvanized flanges because they are usually used outside and need to be rust-proof. The can of spray paint will more than cover the flanges, so do this first to let them dry.

Gather your pipes and complete a configuration that will work with your space. I chose to have a mix of smaller and larger shelve spaces to break up the wall a bit. Your hands will be filthy- the pipes are not clean FYI.

My pattern went for each “leg” went from top to bottom: 90, 10″, coupling, 6″, T, 12″, T, 8″, T, 12″, 90.

I then attached 10″ pipe to each 90 and to each T. These will be the pipes that hold your shelves. Depending on your wood width, you could use a different length.

To each 10″ pipe, I attached a flange. This will serve as your connection to the wall.

With the Handsome’s help, we attached each “leg” to the wall. We used a level and a tape measure to ensure the distance was correct and that the shelves would stay level. We pre-drilled a few of the flanges before attaching to the wall to make sure we had some solid footings in the wall. This is a fairly heavy frame, so a stud should be used to secure the shelf “legs” to the wall.

We went through some of the old decking that we had salvaged that had some dry wear on it. Some cracks and dings didn’t scare us. We measured a portion of the wall and made cuts accordingly. 54 inches in length for four boards. Our lumber was mismatched a bit, so we had to make a cut to make the depth match the iron pipe. Using Polyurethane, I added several coats to make a slick surface on the worn wood to make future cleaning much easier. This is definitely not necessary, but for someone who loves to make cleaning easier, this is a lifesaver.

Once the boards were dry, we placed them on the shelving frame. After a few days, I took out one of the middle planks to make the space a little more dynamic. I am still working on adding our favorite collections to the shelves, but it has changed the entire feel of the room for a pretty small price all things considered.

I know this sweet little boy who loves trains, but loves to be in the kitchen with his Mom just a little bit more. She has started a small specialty catering business and has been “pintesting” a whole bunch of recipes lately. This Mom called me and comissioned me to make a special Chef’s apron just for her little guy. I found the perfect print and the perfect time to finish it this weekend. I can’t wait to see him working hard in the kitchen wearing his new made “JUST for him” apron… and a another little suprise I can’t quite tell… (the package is in the mail). Bon Appétit Jake!

I have been outrageously busy, crazy, and manic for the last few weeks. This weekend offered the opportunity to unwind, do laundry, and generally appreciate the home we’ve made. I wanted to smell cinnamon since the holiday season is upon us, so I went way back to the archives of my childhood memories, to make cinnamon ornaments. Back then, we used a little star cookie cutter. This year I went for tiny trees and hearts. I had a few furry helpers around the house to watch the progress.

This recipe is super easy and relatively inexpensive.

For supplies, I used my homemade apple sauce, cinnamon and glue from the local dollar outlet. This batch cost me less than $4.00 to make two dozen 3 inch cinnamon ornaments.

I use these little holiday reminders instead of gift tags and plan to use them to complete the homemade christmas bundles I will be passing out.

Here is what you will need:

1 Cup of Cinnamon

1/3 cup Applesauce

1/2 cup white glue

Directions: Add Cinnamon and Applesauce together until dry blended. Add glue using a spatula and mix into a dry ball of dough. Give it a 15 minutes to settle, then separate into quarters. Using a rolling pin on a hard surface, roll to 1/4 inch and use cookie cutters in any size. Using a toothpick, create a hole through for hanging.

You can either bake for an hour at 200 (f) degrees or air dry overnight, flipping occasionally to make sure they stay straight thoughout the drying process. Be sure to have your helpers nearby to keep an eye on things.

Hi, I'm Monica!
This is where I share my PNW adventures, love for photography, and some down-home DIY. I believe in simple Northwest living filled with family, friends, and the good life.